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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
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| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Wed Mar 14th, 2007 01:02 pm |
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Pope Benedict’s post-synodal document on the Eucharist issues a challenge across the political spectrum.
Reception of the Eucharist requires obedience to “fundamental values” in public life, Pope Benedict declared in a long-awaited document, the fruit of the 2005 synod of bishops on the Eucharist. But the pope’s words can be seen as a challenge, not only to Catholic politicos like Nancy Pelosi, but to Catholics across the political spectrum.
Though it did not say in so many words that priests should forbid communion to pro-abortion politicians, Pope Benedict XVI’s post synodal Apostolic Constitution, Sacramentum Caritatis, on the Eucharist (released March 13) does assert the need for “consistency” between receiving the sacrament at Mass and what laws he supports or promotes.
The pope, however, directed his words not to supporters of pro-abortion laws alone but to those who betray any of the “fundamental values.” “Worship pleasing to God can never be a purely private matter, without consequences for our relationships with others: it demands a public witness to our faith,” says the document. This is true not just “for all the baptized”; it is “especially incumbent upon those who, by virtue of their social or political position, must make decisions regarding fundamental values, such as respect for human life, its defense from conception to natural death, the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman, the freedom to educate one's children and the promotion of the common good in all its forms.”
The Eucharist, said Benedict, demands “a missionary effort centered on the proclamation of Jesus as the one Savior.” It compels us, however, “to work for the building of a more just and fraternal world.” There is a relationship “between the eucharistic mystery and social commitment” that must be made “explicit,” said the pope.
The social commitment arising out of the Eucharist demands the “restoration of justice, reconciliation and forgiveness” as the condition for “building true peace.” “The recognition of this fact leads to a determination to transform unjust structures and to restore respect for the dignity of all men and women, created in God’s image and likeness,” said Benedict.
The document points to “certain processes of globalization which not infrequently increase the gap between the rich and the poor worldwide. We must denounce those who squander the earth’s riches, provoking inequalities that cry out to heaven.” Human beings bear “a clear and disquieting responsibility” for the “situations of extreme poverty in which a greater part of humanity still lives.” In particular, Benedict decried the “huge sums spent worldwide on armaments,” half of which “would be more than sufficient to liberate the immense masses of the poor from destitution.”
“The Christian laity, formed in the school of the Eucharist, are called to assume their specific political and social responsibilities,” said Benedict. So it is that “Dioceses and Christian communities” must “teach and promote the Church’s social doctrine. In this precious legacy handed down from the earliest ecclesial tradition, we find elements of great wisdom that guide Christians in their involvement in today’s burning social issues,” said Benedict. “This teaching, the fruit of the Church’s whole history, is distinguished by realism and moderation; it can help to avoid misguided compromises or false utopias.”
The above article is reposted from the California Catholic Daily.
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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BodRod
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| Joined: | Mon Oct 2nd, 2006 |
| Location: | Apple Valley, California USA |
| Posts: | 825 |
| First Name: | Cliff | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Raised an SDA, then Generic Christian, finally at home with ... |
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Posted: Wed Mar 14th, 2007 02:49 pm |
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cajunrick wrote: Pope Benedict’s post-synodal document on the Eucharist issues a challenge across the political spectrum.
Though it did not say in so many words that priests should forbid communion to pro-abortion politicians, Pope Benedict XVI’s post synodal Apostolic Constitution, Sacramentum Caritatis, on the Eucharist (released March 13) does assert the need for “consistency” between receiving the sacrament at Mass and what laws he supports or promotes.
Do you think "important" people and wealthy people will ever be excluded from the sacraments?
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Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.
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CajunRick
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5458 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Wed Mar 14th, 2007 05:41 pm |
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BodRod wrote: Do you think "important" people and wealthy people will ever be excluded from the sacraments?
It is already happening in some areas, although admittedly not in important areas such as Washington D.C.
I haven't had a chance to read Benedict's exhortation in detail yet, but the basic position of the Church is that those who do not accept Church teaching should refrain from approaching Holy Communion, not that they should be denied. Approaching the Eucharist unworthily is a personal sin.
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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